Yes, Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer, but there’s a pleasant lull down the Shore between then and when kids get out of school. These are the final moments to enjoy the excellent weather and relative serenity of the microseason, and Seven Mile Island — home to the bougie siblings of Stone Harbor and Avalon — has rolled out the white-sand carpet.
These towns contain some of the most expensive real estate at the Jersey Shore, and in the height of the summer, staying anywhere nice is prohibitively expensive for anyone who is not on a Comcast C-suite salary or whose grandparents didn’t buy a house in 1975. This is another benefit of visiting before July 4. Rates are lower, reservations are easier, and the line at Springer’s is only slightly less insane.
Situated right in the center of Seven Mile, at the southern end of Avalon, beachfront ICONA has the location edge over the island’s other luxury hideout, the Reeds at Shelter Haven, which is convenient to Stone Harbor’s 96th Street shopping district. Both properties are expensive, but you can still find some lingering June rates under $400 a night. ICONA’s beach is beautiful and peaceful, with a breezy bar and lounge between the property and the shoreline, and Avalon Brew Pub is a popular canteen for locals and Shoobies alike.
The origins of Pete Smith’s Surf Shop lie in Virginia Beach, but the boutique has been part of the Jersey Shore for decades. The Stone Harbor location, spread across two storefronts, stocks men’s and women’s swimwear, woolly shackets for chilly nights, and enough Sun Bum for the entire summer. Pick up a branded T-shirt; Pete’s releases a new design every Christmas.
📍 285 96th St., Stone Harbor, N.J. 08247
Learn: The Wetlands Institute
Whether you’re visiting the Shore with kids or simply marine-curious, the Wetlands Institute, located just before crossing the bridge into Stone Harbor, makes a perfect stop. Learn about the local terrapin turtles, pet a sea star in the touch tank, or walk along the marsh trail and elevated boardwalk for views of an integral Jersey ecosystem that most of us rarely see up close.
📍 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd., Stone Harbor, N.J. 08247
Surf: Avalon Surf Camp
Don’t be dissuaded by the multitude of kids on Avalon Surf Camp’s website. Their instructors teach wannabe surfers of all ages and experience levels through group and private lessons on 12th Street beach at the north end of Avalon. The camp provides everything you need: boards, wetsuits, and a working knowledge of the ocean’s mercurial temperament before ever getting in the water. With a little luck and a little wind, you’ll be up on a board by noon.
Because surfing is a workout, and because you’re a good person who deserves nice things, book a treatment with 7 Mile Island Massage. This isn’t a spa but a mobile studio that comes to you. Owner and therapist Nik Pattantyus, who’s also a registered nurse and avid stand-up paddleboarder, will set up in your hotel suite, on the back porch of your rental house, or wherever else you happen to be staying. In addition to deep-tissue, reflexology, and other massage styles, he’s recently added manual lymphatic drainage to the menu.
The fire wood grill cooking various meats at La Portena in Stone Harbor, N.J., on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
Dine: La Porteña
Lucas Manteca has been cooking down the Shore for two decades, and La Porteña, a few blocks from his Quahog’s seafood tavern, is his most personal project yet. The menu and family-style format draw from the chef’s Argentine heritage. Every table receives a spread of snacks and salads to share, including Manteca’s famous empanadas, followed by each diner’s choice of entrée: New York strip, short ribs, Iberico pork secreto, and more. At the time of this writing, dessert is dulce de leche rice pudding with compressed rhubarb. Make reservations.
The line stretching from the white-sided front porch of Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream down Third Avenue is legendary. You might run into your college lacrosse coach, the kids you babysat who are now disconcertingly grown and lifeguarding on 88th Street, or the local girl you spent that one magical summer with in 10th grade. Springer’s has been scooping since the early 1900s, and the nostalgia it inspires is as much a part of the appeal as flavors like banana fudge, the slightly salty butterscotch brickle, and Cookies in My Coffee, crushed Oreos veined through dark coffee ice cream. Worth the wait, always.
The buyers: Rebecca, 43, surgical oncological nurse, and Ryan Taylor, 43, chief financial officer
The house: A 3,250-square-foot home in Chestnut Hill with five bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms built in 1898.
The price: $925,000. Originally listed for $1,100,000.
The agent: Jacob Markovitz, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors
Rebecca and Ryan Taylor’s home in Chestnut Hill became “an amazing deal” after they negotiated for repairs, the couple said.
The ask: Originally from Westchester, N.Y., and Wayne, respectively, Rebecca and Ryan Taylor have been in Chestnut Hill since they bought their first house there in 2017. They loved their other house — a 1920s twin off Germantown Avenue with beautiful architecture, and the place where they’d had their two children, Lily, 3, and Asher, 5. But they felt the need for more space.
“We wanted property for the kids to run around, at least four bedrooms, and two-plus bathrooms,” said Rebecca.
The search: The couple were on the lookout for a new house since they had their second child. But it had to be right, so they took their time exploring options. School districts were a big factor in their decision. “We hadn’t fully decided if we wanted to stay in the city or not,” said Rebecca.
They toured a few houses in Glenside, but that didn’t feel like the right fit. Eventually, they decided they wanted to do whatever they could to stay in Chestnut Hill and upped their search in the area with their agent.
The family of four wanted several bathrooms in their new home. This one has 4 and a half.
The appeal: After two years of searching, their agent found a five-bedroom, 4½-bathroom house, listed in an estate sale. They both fell in love with the historical details: heart carvings in the stairwell, stained glass all over the house, as well as the Dutch tiling in the dining room.
“There’s craftsmanship that you can’t find anymore,” Ryan said. “This house was built largely by hand 127 years ago.”
Plus, the location was right: Chestnut Hill, with its small-town feel, city access, and plentiful nature.
“The community with small children is huge,” she said. “There’s so many trees. You can hike in the Wissahickon, and Pastorius Park is right in town.”
Equally important was public transportation. Rebecca’s commute on the Chestnut Hill West Line to Center City would take only 40 minutes.
But the house was old and in need of repairs.
The deal: The Taylors were surprised to find the house’s septic system was eroded, and they had to use a private septic system, rather than city water management. An initial evaluator told them they might not be able to put in a new septic at all.
A nautical stained glass window in the front entryway of the Taylors’ home. The couple loved the historical details of the old home.
“That was scary. We backed out from the deal because we felt like, ‘Oh my God, this wouldn’t be a livable house.’ I mean, what would we do?” said Rebecca.
When they took steps to walk away from the sale, their agent suggested they ask the sellers to drop $100,000 so they could figure out the issue. They agreed, and the sellers accepted their negotiated offer on the house in a verbal contract. The Taylors then listed their own home, which sold within a week.
“We got an amazing deal on this,” said Ryan.
The money: They purchased the home for $925,000 after negotiation. It was originally listed for $1,100,000. The mortgage rate is 6.625%. They borrowed $740,000 (80%). The down payment was $185,000, paid with the proceeds from the sale of their previous home, which they sold for $675,000. The closing costs were $42,500, and their monthly payment is $5,750 with escrow, interest, and principal.
The move: They closed on Aug. 6, 2025, and moved in shortly after, going on a preplanned vacation to the beach the day after move-in. They immediately had the original quarter sawn floors refinished in white oak.
Outdoor space for the kids and natural light were selling points in the Chestnut Hill home.
“The floors had a dark stain,” Rebecca said. “As soon as we did the floors, the whole house lit up.”
They had a lot of work planned, including the new septic system, so they rented a house in Conshohocken for a month while the larger renovations were ongoing.
Life after close: The house needed significant renovations and repairs, which Ryan estimated at $200,000 so far.
Projects included asbestos removal in the basement, replacing the septic system, refinishing the floors, replacing the roof on the garage, renovating the kitchen, renovating the master bathroom, replacing the windows, landscaping with privacy hedges and tree removal, and converting a second-floor closet into a laundry room. The windows in the sunroom had been plastered over, so they exposed those. They wanted to make the bathroom feel luxurious with green tones and exposed the brick of the old stove in their kitchen.
After investing in their first round of repairs, they find the home to be peaceful and idyllic, with trees and greenery outside and a natural flow inside. “It’s been a wonderful transition, a wonderful home. The house is just easy to live in,” said Rebecca.
Details like Dutch tiles in the kitchen made the Chestnut Hill home appealing.
Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com.
Juneteenth celebrations are happening this weekend. We’ll show you a Juneteenth-themed photo taken in the Philly-area, you drop a pin where you think it was taken. Closer to the location results in a better score. Good luck!
Round #38
Question 1
Where is this parade?
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ClickTap on map to guess the location in the photo
ClickTap again to change your guess and hit submit when you're happy
You will be scored at the end. The closer to the location the better the score
Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
Juneteenth celebrations are scheduled all over the city this weekend, ending with a parade and festival in West Philadelphia. Like the parade here in 2022, many festivities take place near Malcolm X Park.
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Question 2
Where is Philadelphia’s Juneteenth mural?
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Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
Artist Keisha Whatley created Philly’s First Juneteenth Muralin 2023. The 1,100-square-foot painting is located on the 6200 block of Germantown Avenue.
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Question 3
Where is this Juneteenth Block Party?
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Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
The African American Museum’s Juneteenth block party brought out the crowds last year. This year’s block party, the Juneteenth Jubilee, will be celebrating 50 years of the African American Museum in Philadelphia.
Your Score
ARank
Amazing work. You should be proud!
BRank
Good stuff. That’s a score to celebrate!
CRank
C is a passing grade, but you could do better.
DRank
D isn’t great. Try again next week.
FRank
We don’t want to say you failed, but this is not a score to celebrate.
You beat % of other Inquirer readers.
We’ll be back next Saturday for another round of Citywide Quest.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a gay man who has been married to a wonderful man for seven years (together for 12). Throughout our relationship, my husband has struggled with religious trauma that affects his desire (and ability) to be intimate. We’ve seen counselors, talked through it and addressed the value we place on physical intimacy. Nothing has changed.
I love him, but I remain unsatisfied with my needs unmet. This, combined with other things — including limited acceptance from his family and from many of those who live in our geographic area — has led me to push aside many of the issues in our marriage as “no big deal.” Until now.
Two years ago, I started working on a degree with the hope of becoming more self-sufficient and pursuing a career to support my interests. Now that I’ve graduated and am establishing my career, I find my and my husband’s values and goals line up even less. I have also met another man who seems to be more aligned with what I’m looking for in my life, and who has expressed interest. While I don’t want to end my marriage over such a new relationship, the feelings it has brought to light have illustrated how far apart my husband and I have been — and for how long. I’m torn between remaining in a marriage that, despite its issues, has helped me find some happiness, and parting ways after more than a decade together to pursue what I feel is best for me.
Is this just the seven-year itch, or are these issues enough to part ways? I’m struggling and could use some insight.
— CROSSROADS IN IDAHO
DEAR CROSSROADS: It’s time for a long talk with your husband about all of the issues you have written about in your letter — the sexual incompatibility, the family problems, the fact that you are no longer happy living in the geographic area because of attitudes about homosexuality, and finally the fact that you have met someone.
The two of you have a lot going against you, but you should not end the marriage without first communicating that things have not been happy for a very long time and why.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: At work today, a colleague published a report and disseminated it to my entire organization. In the report, they specifically referenced and highlighted a typo I had made in a previous product. Their comments hurt my reputation and could have been cleared up with a simple phone call. Am I wrong to be upset?
— HURT IN MASSACHUSETTS
DEAR HURT: For your colleague to have done what they did was unhelpful and unprofessional. I agree that the matter should have been handled privately. I don’t blame you for being upset, and I don’t blame you for feeling embarrassed. That said, it was only one typo.
Although computer spell check is quite reliable, nothing is absolutely foolproof. The next time you create a document for publication, ask someone to proofread it before you hit “send.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You notice everything, including how people are dressed and what it says, clues they leave about where their affections lie and other evidence of their inner worlds. You’ll use what you learn for mutual benefit.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). What you’re doing is working pretty well. Even small changes could affect the good results you’re getting, so don’t switch things up carelessly or just because you’re restless. If you do decide to make a change, think it through first instead of acting impulsively.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). As much as your nearest and dearest want to help you, familiarity often come with a kind of blindness. Those close to you sometimes miss what perfect strangers see right away. An observant outsider will help you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You know what you want, you just don’t know how to get it. Luckily the “how” will take care of itself as you go. Start telling people your intention and ask for advice. Also, you can quickly get knowledge from books and videos that took others years to acquire.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). In the past you showed up strong for a friend. You’ll do it again today and again in the weeks to come, demonstrating that your mere presence often matters more than many other ways of giving your love.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your sense of humor will help you handle frustration. You’ll laugh at the weirdness of life, and annoying moments lose their power. Finding the funny side of things keeps small frustrations in their proper perspective — tiny enough to blow off.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The attention and care you give to others today will sharpen your awareness of energy. You notice which interactions restore you, which routines deplete you and which supports actually help. Sustainability matters; protect your own stability over time.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re willing to let someone you trust lead you somewhere new. And it’s OK to bring someone new into your familiar territory. But don’t let an unknown person show you unfamiliar territory. Good and safe experiences involve a mix of old and new.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You know what you want and need. If someone has to persuade you to do something, it’s probably not for you. You’ll save everyone time and energy by saying no before they start their pitch.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s family you’re born to and family you find. Found family dynamics remind you that the people who consistently show up, protect your spirit and understand your oddities often become family in the ways that matter most.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It will benefit you to reiterate your belief in the flow of life. Think of yourself as a divining rod for everything you need to be your best self. You must only act on your intuition to be lucky.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Conflict is rarely about the subject of the argument. But how can you find the soul of it? We don’t understand the fight within until it’s projected outwardly. Feelings and fears are revealed before we fully understand them.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 20). It’s your Cornucopia Year in which, like Zeus, you are nourished by a “horn of plenty” overflowing with beauty and abundance. Your generosity increases as your own needs are met, and you will delight in sharing the overflow. More highlights: Home improvement increases your daily happiness. Someone fascinating enters your orbit through work or travel. You’ll develop skills that save time, earn money and boost confidence. Libra and Aries adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 17, 21, 40 and 9.
Luc Cherisson did not have to come as far and live as long and hard as so many who have been waiting to watch Haiti in the World Cup again. But he had his own way to make. The general manager of a rental-car business in Atlanta, an immigrant who left his homeland for America when he was just 20, Cherisson is 36 now, with a friendly face and an amiable disposition that suggest he is always happy to assist his customers with their SUV reservations. He flew into Philadelphia International Airport on Friday morning for his home country’s World Cup match against Brazil, and he would fly back to Atlanta on Saturday morning, a little hungover if a slight miracle materialized at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Even if we lose, it’s still a win for me,” he said a few hours before the match, as he lingered in a parking lot outside Xfinity Mobile Arena. “And if Haiti wins, it will be a party all night.”
There was no miracle. There was only an easy 3-0 victory for Brazil, though Cherisson and the thousands of Haitian natives and fans who attended the match may yet have caroused deep into the Philadelphia night, just for the sake of their home country’s presence here. This is Haiti’s first appearance in the World Cup since its only other one, in 1974. For Cherisson and those like him, for a nation long riven with poverty and corruption and violence, where roving gangs control the capital city of Port-au-Prince and practically govern the country, there is honor and glory merely in earning the right to be here.
“It’s amazing,” Cherisson said. “It’s the biggest sporting event in the world. Just being part of the World Cup is fantastic.”
It might sound silly and Pollyannish to regard just competing at the highest level and grandest stage of the world’s most popular sport as worthy of such pride. How much of FIFA’s multibillion-dollar budget goes toward orange slices and participation trophies? But one has to have just an inkling of the hold that soccer has in Haitian society to appreciate why Cherisson would pay a small fortune to travel to Boston to see Haiti’s 1-0 loss to Scotland last Saturday, to make that 24-hour trip into town for Friday night’s game, and to secure tickets for Haiti’s match against Morocco in Atlanta next Wednesday. Why no one at the Linc much cares that Haiti has now been outscored 18-2 in the five World Cup matches in its history. Why this all matters so much.
The author Madison Smartt Bell, for instance, who in 2014 completed a trilogy of rich and gorgeously written historical novels about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution, still owns a patch of land in the northern part of the country, not far from the forests where the revolution was conceived in 1791. One day, Bell saw several children scurrying around on rough, spiny ground, playing soccer not with a ball or even an empty can of condensed milk, but with a rock.
On his next visit to Haiti, he brought them a regulation soccer ball. The children were ecstatic, but after 10 minutes, they paused their game for a moment. Something sharp had punctured and deflated the ball. So they went back to kicking and passing and shooting the stone.
A Haiti soccer fan blows a plastic horn outside of the Discovery Center in Philadelphia earlier on Friday.
“I think that gives you some idea,” Bell said in an email, “of the importance of soccer in Haitian culture.”
If that doesn’t, this might: Before Haiti’s first match in the ‘74 World Cup, against Italy, “extraordinary legends spread all throughout the country,” said Terry Rey, a Temple University professor of Latin American studies who has written extensively about Haiti and even lived there for six years in the 1990s. Customarily, because their national team had not qualified for the World Cup yet, Haitians divided their loyalties when the event commenced every four years. The poor rooted for Brazil, the elites for Argentina.
But now Haiti, at last, was part of the spectacle. So peasants somehow found the funds to buy transistor radios and batteries so they could listen to the match. People painted and decorated tap taps, the vans and pickup trucks that are used as taxis in the country, with renditions of the team’s players. And when Haitian star Emmanuel Sanon scored the game’s first goal, “people will tell you there wasn’t a place in the entire nation where you didn’t hear someone screaming,” Rey said. Italy won the match, 3-1.
Are these unfavorable final scores irrelevant to the Haitian people? No. It’s just that the sport itself carries so much meaning there, offers so cleansing a respite from all that ails the country. The 1994 World Cup began in July with Haiti trapped amid a period of tumult and persecution, its people under the thumb of a junta regime run by Raoul Cédras, the former head of Haiti’s military, who had taken power in a coup three years earlier. From January to June that year, there was no electricity available anywhere. Then, just in time for the World Cup, the lights went on. There was electricity, and there was cable TV. Cédras had bought the rights to broadcast the tournament, and the opportunity to watch it would quell any widespread desire for a revolt against the regime.
“Haitians love soccer,” Rey said. “It’s just powerful.”
They loved it Friday night, despite the lopsided outcome, despite another loss for a nation waiting for a win that would mean everything. Late into the match, late into the night, having traveled so far and still waiting so long, they were chanting and singing in the parking lots and stomping their feet in the stands and standing to cheer, happy to have reason to be proud. Funny. In a city where there is a long and treasured tradition of telling outsiders and interlopers to go kick rocks, this celebration was still joyous enough.
The United States’ dream start to the FIFA World Cup continued with a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle that secured the Americans’ place in the knockout round.
Fans in Philadelphia packed the FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill on Friday to take in the match.
The crowd on hand for U.S.-Australia, the first World Cup match of the day on Friday, was in favor of the Stars and Stripes, but Haitian and Brazilian fans took in the spectacle before their squads’ scheduled meeting at Philadelphia Stadium (8:30 p.m., Fox29).
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker helped open the gates of the fan festival before the USMNT’s clash with Australia.
Parker walked into the crowd waiting at the festival’s main gate and posed for photos with fans waiting in line, including one with a group of traveling Scottish supporters.
Parker said she was appreciative that fans are showing up to the city and the festival “authentically, as themselves.”
“We are a global culture, and we are one people,” Parker said. “What makes America and the world so amazing, is that all of us, no matter the fabric, no matter the patchwork in our quilt, we make up a global humanity, and an American community that’s representative of everyone. I’m excited about it all.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival.
After greeting fans waiting to get into the festival on Sedgley Drive, Parker greeted a few vendors inside the festival. She stopped at the Bank of America tent to make a bracelet — she chose a black band with all the Philly-specific charms and a World Cup trophy charm — then stopped into the FIFA store on the festival grounds.
With the help of a few store associates, Parker picked out some kits and World Cup merchandise, including both Brazil jerseys, a sea foam France away jersey, a yellow Curaçao jersey, two World Cup logo shirts, and a stripes U.S. jersey.
Parker said she’s enjoyed seeing soccer fans out and about in the city.
“We were on the parkway, and Brazil was turning it out and up,” Parker said. “Everywhere we’ve been, they’re like, ‘Philadelphia is beautiful, the experience is great.’ You can be a visitor one time, but they’ll feel Philadelphia.
“You have to feel the energy here. We are not like any other city in the nation. There is something special about Philadelphia, and being able to share that Philly-ness with the world is something really exciting.”
Moses Bango, 8, (center), playing with his friends Rudy Townsend, 8, (right), and Quinn Medaglia, 9, (left), at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill Park on Friday.
Early arrivals
A line to enter the festival had already formed an hour before it opened to spectators at 2 p.m.
Friday was the first time a U.S. match coincided with a match being played in Philadelphia, making the fan festival a watch party for American fans and a prematch hangout for Brazilian and Haitian fans.
The festival is free to the public with registration, but only 15,000 people can be on the festival grounds at once.
The festival did not reach full capacity during the U.S. match, but it got close. Festival organizers said attendance peaked at 14,000.
According to the festival, more than 100,000 people entered its grounds in its first three days of operation.
Gus Sanchez, who stood near the front of the line on Friday afternoon, said he and his family arrived around noon after biking over from Northeast Philly.
Sanchez said he wanted to watch the U.S. men’s team take on Australia with a crowd, leading him to come over to the festival.
“It’s something I can’t explain,” Sanchez, 53, said. “Seeing people from different countries getting together, having fun, enjoying the game.”
Most of the fans waiting to enter the festival were wearing U.S. garb, but fans of Haiti, Brazil, and even Scotland, which kicked off with Morocco at 6 p.m., were represented.
Alex Nelson said he traveled from Prestwick, Scotland, about 30 miles south of Glasgow, to the U.S. to experience the environment of the World Cup.
He arrived in Philadelphia from Boston, where the Scots played Haiti last Saturday, to take in Scotland-Morocco at the fan festival on Friday.
Nelson, sporting a tartan kilt, said he’s loved his time in Philly so far.
“Very clean city,” Nelson said. “Everybody has been so helpful. Everybody’s mixed in — the Brazilians, the Moroccans, USA, all mixed. That’s what it’s all about.”
Alex Nelson poses with his wife before entering the FIFA Fan Festival on Friday afternoon.
Match moments
The lively crowd had plenty to celebrate, as the U.S. went up, 1-0, after Cameron Burgess knocked in an Australian own goal in the 11th minute.
The crowd erupted as the States took the lead, with chants of “U-S-A” following a frenetic celebration.
The crowd at the Fan Festival goes wild as the U.S. goes up, 1-0, on an Australian own goal.
American fans celebrated again as Alex Freeman doubled the States’ lead with a goal in the 43rd minute.
Their celebration was placed on a temporary hold, as the goal was called offside on the field and disallowed, but after a Video Assistant Referee check confirmed Freeman’s goal counted, the crowd got another opportunity to cheer.
Double celebration for Alex Freeman’s goal to put the U.S. up 2-0 before the half — once before the VAR, and once after
Fans looked on nervously as Australia angled to get back into the match in its final 20 minutes, and they shouted when the game got chippy in its closing moments.
The U.S. is through to the knockouts, and the crowd at the Fan Festival is loving it:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to offload its two warehouse properties in Pennsylvania and another in New Jersey — bought for a total of more than $336 million — that had been purchased to further support President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
In total, ICE is planning to disown seven warehouses across the country by either handing the properties off to other federal agencies or selling them, the New York Times reported.
The agency will continue to pursue spaces in Texas, Arizona, and Maryland.
The move signifies a notable shift in priorities within the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Markwayne Mullin — tapped to lead the department after the abrupt firing of former Secretary Kristi Noem, whose costly warehouse purchases were a pillar of her highly controversial tenure carrying out Trump’s escalating immigration enforcement agenda.
In contrast, Mullin, the Times reported, wants DHS to keep a lower profile.
It remains unclear why DHS is aiming to get rid of some sites while planning to keep others. A spokesperson for the department touted the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and said that “DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”
ICE’s new course would be a win for officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have railed against the agency’s plans to use the warehouses as sites for the mass detention of immigrants, citing harmful community impact.
A source close to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration confirmed to The Inquirer on Friday that they had heard discussions about ICE’s plans to offload the Pennsylvania sites.
Shapiro penned a letter to Noem earlier this year saying he would “aggressively pursue every option” to prevent the ICE warehouses that were slated for Berks and Schuylkill Counties.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks with members of the media on May 19 outside his polling place in Rydal.
In the February letter, he questioned the legality of the facilities, highlighted possible harmful environmental impacts, and slammed the department’s immigration enforcement tactics. Cabinet secretaries and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also issued five administrative orders in March that would have prevented the warehouses from using local water and sewage systems unless DHS complied with state and federal regulations.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D, Pa.), who backed Mullin’s nomination, voiced his opposition to the warehouse centers in an April letter to the secretary.
Public records indicate that in February, the Department of Homeland Security purchased a property in Hamburg, Berks County, for $87.4 million and a property in Tremont, Schuylkill County, for $119.5 million.
In New Jersey, the agency purchased a property in Roxbury Township, Morris County, for $129.3 million, records show.
ICE has been hit with several lawsuits across the country, including in New Jersey, questioning the environmental and community impacts of the warehouses.
New JerseyGov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed a joint lawsuit with Roxbury Township against ICE and DHS in March.
On Thursday, Sherrill and Davenport said in a statement: “DHS’s plans were always illegal: the Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people, and did nothing to make New Jersey safer.”
Discussions surrounding ICE warehouses also spurred local officials in the Philadelphia region to voice their concerns about such sites.
In Bucks County, commissioners unanimously passed a resolution in February opposing any immigration detention or processing facilities. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), who represents Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County, said he received assurances from the federal government that no ICE warehouses were planned in his district.
Staff writer Stephen Stirling contributed to this article.
SEATTLE — It turned out that the U.S. men’s soccer team didn’t need Christian Pulisic to beat Australia, and make history in doing so.
With the star playmaker unable to shake off a calf injury, the Americans used two first-half tallies and a raucous atmosphere in Seattle to earn a 2-0 win, before a packed-to-the-roof crowd of 66,925.
The win clinched qualification for the knockout rounds, and marked the first time since 1930 that the U.S. men’s program has won two games in a World Cup group stage.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino started Ricardo Pepi in the open lineup spot, leading to a tactical change. The Americans rolled out a 3-5-2 formation, with Pepi and Folarin Balogun paired up top.
It didn’t take long for that to pay off. In the 11th minute, Antonee Robinson sprung Balogun down the left flank. He ran almost to the end line, then laid a pass into an onrushing crowd that included Pepi, Sergiño Dest, and three Australian defenders. The ball hit one of them, Cameron Burgess, and pinged into the net.
The statisticians at TruMedia noted this marked the first time in World Cup history that one team benefited from own goals in consecutive games, following the opening tally of the U.S.’ win over Paraguay.
During the rest of the first half, the action was as physical as expected. Each team committed eight fouls in the period, and German referee Felix Zwayer left more potential ones uncalled. There were two yellow cards, for Jordan Bos’ tackle on Tyler Adams in the 16th minute, and Alessandro Circati’s hard hit on Malik Tillman in the 32nd.
The mood came to a boil in the 38th when Alex Freeman collided head-to-head with Paul Okon-Engstler, and both players stayed down for a while. Fortunately, neither had to leave the game.
The Americans got their second in the 43rd, and in controversial fashion. After Dest and Tillman combined to draw a foul on the right wing, Robinson served the free kick wide to Dest at the top of the 18-yard box. He ripped a shot that hit the crowd, flew up in the air, and Freeman jumped to head it past Matt Beach.
The controversy was that the flag was up for offside, and it sure looked at first like there was good reason. Balogun and Weston McKennie were indeed off when Dest shot. But Freeman wasn’t, and since Balogun didn’t touch the ball, the video review officials called it a good goal.
Australia manager Tony Popovic admitted how deep a hole his team was in by making three substitutions at halftime, including taking out Burgess. Another, replacing striker Mohamed Touré with Nestory Irankunda, raised the question of why Irankunda surprisingly hadn’t started.
Popovic had another complaint in the 63rd when Adams, who was risking a suspension for yellow card accumulation, knocked Connor Metcalfe over in the box off the ball and it went uncalled.
This was the start of the Socceroos gaining momentum, and Wayne’s Matt Freese was forced into his first proper save of the day in the 65th. A few seconds later, Chris Richards shoved Irankunda outside the box as Freese was charging off his line toward them, Zwayer didn’t blow his whistle, and Popovic was angry again.
Pochettino finally made his first substitution in the 74th, sending in Sebastian Berhalter for Pepi and taking the U.S. back to a one-striker setup.
Tyler Adams (left) and Weston McKennie (right) battling with Australia’s Nestory Irankunda during the second half.
The crowd might have preferred hometown hero Cristian Roldan, and a lot of people wanted to see Adams taken off before picking up that feared second booking.
Instead, there were two other defensive substitutions in the 80th: Joe Scally for Dest and Media’s Auston Trusty for Robinson.
Tempers flared again in the 88th when Australia’s 6-foot-6 centerback Harry Souttar and Balogun got each other in mutual headlocks. There was a brief coming together of the teams, and both players were booked. Australia’s Jacob Italiano was also booked amid the scuffling.
As six minutes of stoppage time began, the crowd gave another hearty “USA!” chant. Then they had a brief laugh in the 93rd when Zwayer cramped up on the field, and needed some medical assistance. Players from both teams came over to lend a hand.
Pochettino then made two last substitutions, withdrawing Balogun for Haji Wright and McKennie for Gio Reyna.
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — President Donald Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned jumbo jet that has been converted into the official U.S. presidential aircraft.
The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane’s left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.
“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Andrews Air Force Base hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.
He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of Seven summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.
“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”
He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.
The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called “bridge” aircraft to carry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That delivery is currently slated for 2028.
The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has insisted in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.
Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as they awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for use of one of their planes.
“See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”
The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.
The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.
Trump’s efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Joe Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.
Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will also use the similar red, white, and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.
An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told the Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.
It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”
